page_title: Baga people
section_title: Demographics and languages
hierarchical_section_title: Baga people / Demographics and languages
caption_attribution_description: English: The geographical distribution of the Baga people (approx). This is a derivative work on the following image available under creative commons license in wikimedia: File:Location Guinea AU Africa.svg
context_page_description: The Baga are a West African ethnic group who live in the southern swampy lands of Guinea Atlantic coastline. Traditionally animist through the pre-colonial times, they converted to Islam during the colonial era, under the force of Muslim dominance. Some continue to practice their traditional rituals.
  Typically rural and known for their agricultural successes, particularly with rice farming, the Baga people speak a language of the Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo family.
  They are also known for their historic animist pieces of artwork. Known for their beauty and sophistication, these have been displayed and held at many major museums of the world. After independence, a totalitarian Islamic-Marxist government took over Guinea in 1958. Its program of "demystification" lasted till 1984, destroying the traditional beliefs and ritual arts of the Baga people.
context_section_description: The Baga people include a number of tribes that share cultural characteristics. The subgroups include the Mandori, Sitemu, Pukur, Bulunits, Kakissa (or Sobané),  Koba, and the Kalum. They are also closely related to the inland Landuma, the Nalu of Guinea-Bissau, and the Temne of Sierra Leone, with whom they share linguistic similarities.
  The name Baga is derived from the Susu phrase bae raka, “people of the seaside.”
  They speak the Baga languages. Many also speak the Mande language Susu because it has been the regional trade language. The Baga language has many dialects, and some of these have become extinct.
caption: Baga people distribution in Guinea (approx).[1]
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